Teaching at Kaplan or PR for just this summer? Forum

[StrictlyBusiness]

I know I'm a little late getting into the game of a summer job, but I'm hoping to be able to tutor the LSAT this summer and it seems like the easiest way to do so is through one of the established companies.

My first question is how long are their training sessions and would they want someone who will be enrolling in law school in less than 4 months?

Also how difficult is it to actually land one of these positions? (I'm in a large city with tons of undergrad students)
I have a 173 which seems plenty high for either, and I have experience as a tutor through my undergrad. On a scale ranging from 'walk right in and you're hired' to 'we only accept Yalies' how difficult will it be to get a job through them?

I know there are plenty of tutoring topics, but none seemed to answer those specific questions, thanks.

[gaud]

With a 173 you can work for a much better company than Kaplan that will pay you wayyyy more $$$$

It's very easy to get a job @ Kaplan. The bulk of the training is online (webcam) and takes roughly a month. There are plenty of soon-to-be law students.

[StrictlyBusiness]

Any suggestions on where else pays more? I know Test Masters does but they also require 2 years experience.

Also is that month of Kaplan training paid?

[gaud]

Any suggestions on where else pays more? I know Test Masters does but they also require 2 years experience.

Also is that month of Kaplan training paid?

Everyone will pay more than Kaplan. Kaplan pays crap.

I believe Manhattan also has the two year experience requirement.

So, I'd look into Princeton Review and maybe Blueprint (I'm not sure if they have requirements like Manhattan/TM) if I were you

ETA: the Kaplan training is paid, but roughly minimum wage

[dixon02]

I have a friend who did Test Masters and made bank.

[suspicious android]

TM and Manhattan require 2 years experience?? As what?

OP: just send everyone an application with a resume and nice cover letter: TM/PS/BP/Manhattan/PR (still in business? not clear on that). Then, if all else fails, try craigslist for local shops hiring in your area. Then try Kaplan, they pay significantly less, but most of the people I know who have taught for them suggest it was a positive experience. Just not as lucrative as a non-crappy company.

Also, you might try private tutoring, though it seems to be a much fuller field than it was a few years ago.

[gaud]

TM and Manhattan require 2 years experience?? As what?

OP: just send everyone an application with a resume and nice cover letter: TM/PS/BP/Manhattan/PR (still in business? not clear on that). Then, if all else fails, try craigslist for local shops hiring in your area. Then try Kaplan, they pay significantly less, but most of the people I know who have taught for them suggest it was a positive experience. Just not as lucrative as a non-crappy company.

Also, you might try private tutoring, though it seems to be a much fuller field than it was a few years ago.

From Manhattan's site:

Please note that we only hire teachers who have 99th percentile scores on the actual LSAT and have at least 2 years actual teaching experience

I couldn't find anything on TM's website that indicates they require prior experience, but I only glanced.

This is great advice, OP. I made good $$$ private tutoring for a while

[StrictlyBusiness]

Thanks a lot guys. As for TM requiring experience I think may have confused them with manhattan. Either way I plan to apply across the board and see what I can find.

[SanDiegoJake]

It's going to be tough for you to get a job teaching LSAT anywhere if you're leaving before the October test. I work for Princeton Review and we wouldn't let you into training if you couldn't commit to ever teaching a complete class. Think about it from the company's perspective - do something different with your summer.

[StrictlyBusiness]

It's going to be tough for you to get a job teaching LSAT anywhere if you're leaving before the October test. I work for Princeton Review and we wouldn't let you into training if you couldn't commit to ever teaching a complete class. Think about it from the company's perspective - do something different with your summer.

I suspected this might be an issue for some companies, but I was under the impression that not all classes run on the same time table. Surely the majority will go up to the next test date, but Kaplan has classes/workshops/tutoring that will be finished by early-mid September, no?

I certainly see the company's perspective though and I was upfront about my timetable in my cover letters, so we'll see what happens.

[bp shinners]

maybe Blueprint (I'm not sure if they have requirements like Manhattan/TM) if I were you

Info on Blueprint for OP (and any other person interested)

Requirements:
170+ (though realize that we usually have 2-3 people auditioning for any given market, and we only have one instructor for most markets, so a higher score is better)
Interesting personality (training/interview sessions involve improv theater and other such measures of your ability to be more interesting than your average 170+ scorer)
No stage fright (we expect you to hit the ground running)

Process:
Send in a resume, official score report, and cover letter to info@blueprintprep.com. If you make it amusing in some way, you're more likely to hear back from us (I wrote a love letter and an ode)
If we like what we see, we'll get back to you to set up a video interview
If we still like what we see after that (and yes, looking good in a swimsuit will get you bonus points), we bring you out for training. This is still part of the interview process.
During training, you'll go over the material, teach mock classes, and get notes from Matt/Trent/Jodi (the owners) and veteran instructors. Over 3-4 days (depending on the number of instructors we're training), we expect to see constant improvement. If you improve and we like your personality (since we have a very large focus on hiring instructors we think can make the class interesting as well as enlightening), we give you a class.

Continued education:
You'll have a mentor that will talk to you every week to help you through your first session. We'll also evaluate you during one of your first few classes to ensure that you're teaching effectively (we don't expect you to be perfect, but we expect a heck of a lot at $60/hr).

Salary:
$60/hr for your first class, $75/hr for your second, $100/hr for every class you teach after that. $15/hr prep/mentoring time (I believe - I'm not 100% sure on that). $60/hr tutoring.

We expect our teachers to stick it out with us, however, so if you're just interested in teaching for the summer, we probably won't hire you to teach. We could possibly use you as a tutor. That said, if you teach the class once, the prep time goes down dramatically for each future class. It's not easy, but it's not very time consuming after the first class. We have plenty of teachers that also go to law school/work full time as attorneys.

-Edit- Oh, and the entire process to get a class takes 3-4 months, on average. We only have training sessions every so often, so if you're interested in teaching this year, I would get a resume in shortly.

[elterrible78]

maybe Blueprint (I'm not sure if they have requirements like Manhattan/TM) if I were you

Info on Blueprint for OP (and any other person interested)

Requirements:
170+ (though realize that we usually have 2-3 people auditioning for any given market, and we only have one instructor for most markets, so a higher score is better)
Interesting personality (training/interview sessions involve improv theater and other such measures of your ability to be more interesting than your average 170+ scorer)
No stage fright (we expect you to hit the ground running)

Process:
Send in a resume, official score report, and cover letter to info@blueprintprep.com. If you make it amusing in some way, you're more likely to hear back from us (I wrote a love letter and an ode)
If we like what we see, we'll get back to you to set up a video interview
If we still like what we see after that (and yes, looking good in a swimsuit will get you bonus points), we bring you out for training. This is still part of the interview process.
During training, you'll go over the material, teach mock classes, and get notes from Matt/Trent/Jodi (the owners) and veteran instructors. Over 3-4 days (depending on the number of instructors we're training), we expect to see constant improvement. If you improve and we like your personality (since we have a very large focus on hiring instructors we think can make the class interesting as well as enlightening), we give you a class.

Continued education:
You'll have a mentor that will talk to you every week to help you through your first session. We'll also evaluate you during one of your first few classes to ensure that you're teaching effectively (we don't expect you to be perfect, but we expect a heck of a lot at $60/hr).

Salary:
$60/hr for your first class, $75/hr for your second, $100/hr for every class you teach after that. $15/hr prep/mentoring time (I believe - I'm not 100% sure on that). $60/hr tutoring.

We expect our teachers to stick it out with us, however, so if you're just interested in teaching for the summer, we probably won't hire you to teach. We could possibly use you as a tutor. That said, if you teach the class once, the prep time goes down dramatically for each future class. It's not easy, but it's not very time consuming after the first class. We have plenty of teachers that also go to law school/work full time as attorneys.

-Edit- Oh, and the entire process to get a class takes 3-4 months, on average. We only have training sessions every so often, so if you're interested in teaching this year, I would get a resume in shortly.

Shinners, question for you:

I will be taking the LSAT for the first time in June, but I anticipate scoring a 170+ (I know, I know, nothing is for sure). I am working on a military mission in the southwest until the end of September, and then will be moving to Arlington, VA, with plans to start law school next fall. I'm thinking of trying to get a gig teaching with a test prep company in the Arlington/DC area (I have a few years experience tutoring and teaching both college student and adult learners, and legitimately love it), but I don't plan on going to school in DC. Does BluePrint ever hire someone to work in one area and then have them transfer somewhere else as circumstances dictate?

Thanks very much for any insight you can give.

[bp shinners]

Shinners, question for you:

I will be taking the LSAT for the first time in June, but I anticipate scoring a 170+ (I know, I know, nothing is for sure). I am working on a military mission in the southwest until the end of September, and then will be moving to Arlington, VA, with plans to start law school next fall. I'm thinking of trying to get a gig teaching with a test prep company in the Arlington/DC area (I have a few years experience tutoring and teaching both college student and adult learners, and legitimately love it), but I don't plan on going to school in DC. Does BluePrint ever hire someone to work in one area and then have them transfer somewhere else as circumstances dictate?

Thanks very much for any insight you can give.

Yep, we've had people transfer. I started teaching in LA, then I taught in Philly last year, and I'm in NYC now. If you're a great teacher, we definitely do everything we can to keep you teaching our classes.

That's about the limit of my knowledge, though - if you want to know about specific markets, and whether or not we need people there, you'll have to contact the office.

[elterrible78]

Yep, we've had people transfer. I started teaching in LA, then I taught in Philly last year, and I'm in NYC now. If you're a great teacher, we definitely do everything we can to keep you teaching our classes.

That's about the limit of my knowledge, though - if you want to know about specific markets, and whether or not we need people there, you'll have to contact the office.

Thanks very much, that's helpful. If I get my score back in early July and it meets the requirements, I'll start looking into the process more concretely.

[Helicio]

I am also taking in June and am scoring 170+ on practice tests. Assuming I earn that on the real thing, is there an age requirement for teaching BP? Can a rising senior tutor?

[tmon]

I think a lot of the earlier posters underestimate how difficult it is to get a solid teaching/tutoring position. A lot of the companies have extended hiring processes as noted above. Most of the jobs aren't as simple as "get a high score and you've got the job," and a lot of the major markets are saturated which makes it hard to do independent tutoring.

[bp shinners]

I am also taking in June and am scoring 170+ on practice tests. Assuming I earn that on the real thing, is there an age requirement for teaching BP? Can a rising senior tutor?

If you're a good teacher who can command a class, we'll hire you to teach. We have several people still in undergrad working for us. Realize, however, that a large part of the application process will involve you teaching mock classes in front of a group. If you look young/immature, you're going to have to try harder than some others to come across as knowledgeable and professional. As far as companies go, we're pretty laid back as long as you're doing a good job. However, if the way you present yourself prevents the class from respecting you, that creates problems (and, honestly, you won't much enjoy teaching that class). So definitely possible, and not even that difficult (just wear something more professional and know the material), but something you should know going in.

[ucbkenn]

Any suggestions on where else pays more? I know Test Masters does but they also require 2 years experience.

Also is that month of Kaplan training paid?

Testmasters doesn't require any experience.

[JohnDorian]

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